after the attack in benghazi, one of the big questions is, did the obama administration recognize the deteriorating security situation in libya? and did they do everything that they could to protect diplomatic personnel in that country? abc news has obtained this internal e-mail from the state department in may suggesting that a request by a security support team, about 16 special forces soldiers, to keep a small airplane, a dc-3 in that country to get around more easily, especially with all their weapons, was rejected, elizabeth. >> how is the state department reacted to whether or not proper security and teams were given to the teams in libya? >> reporter: the state department says this is not a big deal. commercial flights were available at the time. and they say that there's no evidence that the absence of this airplane had any effect on what happened in september. but republicans on the hill, with the house oversight committee which will be holding hearings, says it's part of a pattern of officials in washington denying security requests from ambassador stevens and others in liby